Sunday, 14 July 2013

The United Republic of Soybeans: (2)جمهورية الصويا

GRAIN | 14 July 2013A social and environmental catastrophe has settled like a plague over the countries of the Southern Cone - Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Bolivia. Transgenic soya monoculture now covers 46 million hectares in the region.The advance of GMO soya is displacing farmers and indigenous communities and poisoning land and people alike (600 million litres of toxic glyphosate is sprayed on these crops each year) while 500,000 ha of forest are lost to its expansion every year.We are seeking to strengthen and articulate the comprehensive and coordinated mobilisation against this plunder through local resistance, public condemnation, the building of alternatives, and fighting back on all possible fronts.Read the article here: http://www.grain.org/e/4749

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WHY A BLOG? لماذا الموقع

Land and water resources, plant and animal production, animal health, plant disease and food safety are factors that affect the ability of a nation to achieve food security. I firmly believe that food security is as important as national security for any nation in the world.

Unfortunately, at the present time in Kurdistan and indeed in all Iraq, we are complacent with regard to food security because we currently have the hard currency that allows us to import most of the food and drink we require. However there are no checks to ensure the safety of the imported food and the time will soon come when the global demand for food will result in food shortage and high prices. Global food production must doubled by 2050 when the world's population will be around 9.2 billion population. I must do what I can to make everyone realise that we must work hard to improve agriculture output and produce at least some of the nation's food requirements.

I retired from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) almost 4 years ago having spent over 33 years in Africa and Middle East and hope that this simple blog will help me impart some of my experience to a younger generation of agriculturists, veterinarians and others involved in plant and animal husbandry. They have the resposibility of producing food for the future.